I think it may be of interest to you to review briefly the background for this session, and how we decided on a concentrated effort in quality improvement in the Agricultural Research Service.

I arrived on the scene in the ARS two years ago, fresh from the textile industry. At J. P. Stevens, we had a love/hate relationship with cotton. On one hand, we led In the development of Permanent Press 100% cotton products--the Sheet Division was the first to introduce an all cotton no-iron sheet about seven years ago and, four years later, the Cotton and Blends Division an all-cotton Permanent Press fabric for jeans and leisure wear. Yet we had become very used to running blends containing primarily polyester. These blends, as well as 100% polyester fabrics, were easier and less costly to run. The mill managers got spoiled, and getting back to high cotton content caused a real problem.